Christie guilty of driving charge

Former Olympic gold medallist Linford Christie has escaped a charge of dangerous driving but couldn't outrun a guilty verdict for careless driving.

The sprinter, who clinched gold in the 100 metre event at the Barcelona Games in 1992, was found guilty of careless driving by a jury at Aylesbury Crown Court, in Buckinghamshire, after a two-day trial.

Christie, of Sherland Road, Twickenham, west London, was involved in a head-on collision with a taxi carrying a newlywed couple as a result of driving the wrong way down a major road.

The 51-year-old confessed to the court that he thought he was "going to die" after the late-night accident. The drivers of both vehicles were likely to have made heftycar insurance claims after the two cars were left in a crumpled mess among twisted metal and debris on the carriageway.

Christie said: "I accept that it was my fault. I was driving along and I saw the car headlights and I thought he was on the wrong side of the road, and then I realised I was, and then I tried to turn."